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State of State emphasizes necessity of eliminating tenure

Just how relevant to education reform in Georgia is the elimination of tenure for newly hired teachers?

Considering that he used three-quarters of his State of the State address to focus on the issue leaves little doubt that Gov. Roy Barnes thinks it is extremely important.

We agree with the governor.

Still, we can't help but be astounded that a politician would forego a prime forum to brag about the accomplishments of his first year in office and to outline his agenda for the next 12 months.

That Barnes would dedicate this occasion -- attended by members of both the House and Senate, the judiciary, sundry state officials, visiting dignitaries and others -- to make the case for ending tenure is testimony to its importance as well as the ferocity of resistance he expects to encounter.

The performance of Georgia's education system is shameful and the toleration of incompetent teachers is a big part of the reason, the governor believes.

''Why do we need to end teacher tenure?'' asked the governor. ''Because it keeps those few bad teachers in the classroom -- and the children in those classrooms are being denied the opportunity to learn.''

Barnes noted that studies consistently confirm that teacher quality is the single most critical factor in determining how well a child learns.

He pointed to a University of Tennessee report that found that after three years, a student with good teachers will score 50 to 60 percentile points higher on standardized tests than a similar student with ineffectual teachers.

Barnes cited an example of a teacher in a Georgia school who gave a child a failing grade on a test because the student had written the word ''equator'' above the imaginary line that separates the northern and southern hemispheres on a globe.

When the parents complained, the teacher pointed to the textbook and said, ''You see, here the word 'equator' is written just below that line, so your son is wrong.''

The parents complained, but the teacher is still on the faculty of a Georgia school today.

By protecting the incompetent ones, tenure harms the reputation of all teachers and discourages thousands of intelligent and energetic people from entering the profession.

Barnes used his speech to debunk many of the arguments against eliminating tenure, noting that ''Good teachers don't need tenure, and bad teachers don't deserve it.''

He challenged the members of the General Assembly to help bring about education reform by eliminating tenure.

''You can stand with the special interests who want to protect the worst teachers, or you can join us in lifting up our good teachers for praise and reward,'' he said.

Seldom has a governor taken such a forceful stand on an issue that is certain to cost him politically, both in terms of his legislative agenda and an expected bid for re-election in less than three years.

Teachers are a powerful constituency in Georgia, as they are in most states. The governor's willingness to risk alienating many of them underscores his commitment to improving the quality of education.

We applaud the governor's courage in sticking his neck out to put and end to teacher tenure and we admire his unselfishness in focusing the spotlight of the State of the Union address not on himself, but on an issue he feels is so fundamental to improving the education of our children.